Bhubaneswar, Nov. 25: The traffic woes of the people commuting between Rasulgarh and Samantarapur are likely to come to an end with the construction of the proposed 11km bypass road from Bhuasuni temple to Daya bridge.

Part of the 67.25km NH-203 project, the bypass road will not only provide better and faster communication facilities to the people of 11 villages from Pandra to the Daya bridge near Lingipur, but also help commuters between Cuttack and Puri avoid the congested capital. The project will be undertaken by the Bhubaneswar Expressway Pvt. Ltd, for which tenders have been finalised.

Project director of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Aditya Kumar Ray said the bypass road has been proposed specifically to address the traffic problem on the stretch from Rasulgarh and Samntarapur. “A bypass road can also solve the problem of connectivity for the people on the outskirts, as well as facilitate vehicular traffic between Cuttack and Puri,” he added.

The official indicated there would be three more bypasses connecting the NH-230 at Pipili-Dandamukundapur, Chandanpur and Harekrushnapur, besides and a rail overbridge at Samjajpur to facilitate the smooth flow of traffic up to Puri. People travelling to the temple town need not have to pass through the busy townships on the Bhubaneswar-Puri national highway.

Ray said though the work is supposed to start from January 30, land acquisition problems were likely to cause some delay and ultimately the project may kick off in the first week of February.

Swayamsiddha, a student of BJB College who travels frequently on the Rasulgarh-Samantarapur route, said the construction of a bypass road was good news as the rush of traffic often delays her while going to the college. “Presently, traffic congestion on the route is so heavy that you can never guarantee you would reach your destination in time,” she said.

The project is likely to be over in two and a half years. To be executed in the design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) mode, the road would be handed over to the NHAI by the operators after 29 years.